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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. field — farmland
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — for sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. fall — the season
  9. snap — to click
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wake — a trail
  16. field — a subject
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. bore — to tire
  24. wake — before a funeral

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