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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wound — an injury
  4. scale — in music
  5. capital — a city
  6. scale — size or range
  7. current — electric
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. current — of water
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — happening now
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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