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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pit — a hole
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — the fish
  9. net — for catching
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. capital — money
  18. spell — magic
  19. capital — a city
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — after costs
  22. bass — low music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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