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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bear — the animal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spell — letters
  5. rash — a series
  6. spell — magic
  7. rash — hasty
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. field — for sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — farmland
  18. capital — a city
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. field — a subject
  23. capital — money
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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