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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. capital — a city
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rest — a break
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — to recline
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. scale — in music
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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