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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
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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: game · capital · stem · dip · sharp · wind · leaves · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. game — a match
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stem — to come from
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. dip — to sink
  24. sharp — clever

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