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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mark — a trace
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a music group
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a ring
  10. fall — the season
  11. mark — a grade
  12. capital — money
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fall — to drop

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