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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. shower — rain
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. current — electric
  5. fall — the season
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rock — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fall — to drop
  12. current — of water
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mark — a trace
  15. shower — to wash
  16. current — happening now
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rock — a stone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. drill — army training
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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