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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mark — a grade
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — money
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — the time now
  16. capital — a city
  17. present — there
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mark — a trace
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — a gift
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. patient — a sick person

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