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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — a video
  7. pit — in a race
  8. can — a tin
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pit — a hole
  13. can — a tin
  14. capital — a city
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — money
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fall — the season
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — to cut

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