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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 116 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. capital — a city
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bark — to shout
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — for betting
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. wind — moving air

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