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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — to confront
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. face — part of the head
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — a series

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