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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. capital — a city
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. lean — to bend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. dip — to sink
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  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