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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. shower — to wash
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chest — a box
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. racket — for tennis

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