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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fall — the season
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. band — a ring
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — of a plant
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a music group
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. root — of a word
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. root — the cause
  16. capital — money
  17. charge — a price
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — in football
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. row — a quarrel

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