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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. last — to go on
  6. land — ground
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — final
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — finally
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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