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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — to come down
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. roll — a cake
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. roll — a list
  17. capital — money
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — to shout
  21. land — a country
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. leaves — to go away

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