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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. capital — a city
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — a trail
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fall — the season
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. net — after costs
  20. capital — money
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bass — low music

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