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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cold — not warm
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — an illness
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. capital — a city
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. rash — on the skin

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