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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — to come down
  7. fine — all right
  8. shower — rain
  9. capital — a city
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fine — high quality
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fall — the season
  17. capital — money
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. kid — child
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — hasty

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