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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 116 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. capital — a city
  22. pound — a weight
  23. scale — in music
  24. kid — child

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