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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. fall — the season
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pass — a permit
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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