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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. shower — rain
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. root — of a plant
  7. capital — money
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fall — the season
  12. root — of a word
  13. shower — to wash
  14. press — to push
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. press — newspapers
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wound — an injury

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