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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · leaves · sharp · capital · shower · club · charge · tear

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. lean — to bend
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lean — thin
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — money
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. tear — from crying
  13. charge — a price
  14. club — for golf
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tear — from crying
  17. club — a group
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. club — for dancing
  21. charge — electricity
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. charge — in control
  24. shower — rain

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