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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — of water
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. capital — a city
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. ground — crushed
  8. spring — the season
  9. pop — to visit
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. capital — money
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pop — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ground — the earth

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