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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. spell — a short time
  7. face — part of the head
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. spell — letters
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. squash — the sport
  13. spell — magic
  14. face — to point toward
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bass — low music
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to confront
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — the fish
  22. row — a line
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — a city

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