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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. craft — boats
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rule — a law
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rule — government
  24. row — a line

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