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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. scale — size or range
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — a short time
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — magic
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — a line
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. spell — letters
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. scale — in music

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