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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — rain
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — to drop
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — an injury
  9. current — happening now
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. current — of water
  15. roll — a list
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. roll — a cake
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. current — electric
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fall — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. capital — money

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