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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to click
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. capital — money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chest — a box
  14. bore — to drill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bulb — for light
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wound — an injury

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