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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. charge — a price
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a city
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. charge — electricity
  23. capital — money
  24. charge — in control

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