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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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468
Word bank
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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to click
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. shower — rain
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. shower — to wash
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. capital — money
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — to turn a key

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