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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. snap — to click
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cue — for pool
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. can — a tin
  18. present — there
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — high quality
  22. can — a tin
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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