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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. row — a line
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. dip — to sink
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — in biology
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. deal — to handle
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. row — to paddle
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rush — hurry
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — money
  24. leaves — to go away

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