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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. capital — a city
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. swing — in golf
  18. capital — money
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. tube — a container
  24. wind — moving air

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