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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cell — in biology
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — to be able to
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cell — a phone
  20. capital — a city
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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