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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · sharp · leaves · mouse · cold · foot · game · capital

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. fall — the season
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fall — to drop
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. capital — money
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. game — a match
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — wild animals
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — not warm

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