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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a city
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tube — the underground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wake — a trail
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. capital — money
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — a container
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fall — to drop
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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