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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mine — for digging
  6. root — of a plant
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. root — the cause
  16. lean — thin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. lean — to bend
  22. current — happening now
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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