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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — money
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. net — after costs
  14. capital — a city
  15. fall — to drop
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. craft — boats
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — for catching
  22. craft — a skill
  23. track — a path
  24. net — in sport

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