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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — a country
  6. cap — a lid
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — money
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fall — the season
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cap — of ice
  22. lean — to bend
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. fall — to drop

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