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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. shower — rain
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rule — a law
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — moving air
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — money
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. craft — boats
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fall — the season
  22. rule — government
  23. fall — to drop
  24. nail — for a hammer

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