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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bound — certain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rash — a series
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. bound — obliged
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — money
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. capital — a city

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