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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — to play on
  10. firm — steady
  11. snap — to click
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. drill — army training
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cue — a hint
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — a practice
  20. firm — a company
  21. firm — decided
  22. cold — an illness
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cue — for pool

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