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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spell — letters
  3. tube — the underground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spell — a short time
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. saw — the tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. saw — the tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. branch — a division
  14. capital — money
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. sharp — clever
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spell — magic
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. tube — a container
  24. capital — a city

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