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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. swing — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pound — a weight
  6. capital — a city
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — in music
  12. pop — soda
  13. tear — to rip
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. swing — in golf
  18. drill — army training
  19. pop — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — to hit hard

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