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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mate — a friend
  7. snap — to click
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bear — the animal
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spell — letters
  22. capital — money
  23. mate — to breed
  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