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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. roll — a list
  4. dip — to sink
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — to go on
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wound — an injury
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — money
  21. chest — a box
  22. capital — a city
  23. stock — shares
  24. last — final

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