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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bark — to shout
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fork — in a road
  19. capital — money
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. shower — rain
  24. capital — a big letter

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