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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — to cut
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. capital — a city
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — a video
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — a leader
  24. leaves — of a tree

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