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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. net — in sport
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. swing — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. net — after costs
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — a practice
  14. net — for catching
  15. spell — a short time
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — in golf
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — in cards
  22. swing — to play on
  23. capital — money
  24. fine — high quality

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