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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 120 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. capital — a city
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — music
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. lie — to recline
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. leaves — lets stay

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