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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cold — an illness
  5. capital — a city
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. pop — music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pop — to visit
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. capital — money
  24. lean — thin

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