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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wake — a trail
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. club — for golf
  5. root — the cause
  6. capital — a city
  7. scale — in music
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. root — of a word
  11. capital — money
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — a group
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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