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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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. capital — a city
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. file — a tool
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — letters
  19. file — a document
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. spell — magic
  22. capital — money
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — for weighing

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