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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rest — what's left
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. perch — the fish
  11. content — the amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fall — to drop
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fall — the season
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — money

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