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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. saw — the tool
  6. last — finally
  7. capital — money
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. file — a tool
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a document
  14. rash — a series
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. lean — to bend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. capital — a city
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rash — hasty
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lean — thin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com