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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. capital — a city
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a line of people
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a tool
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — ground
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — money
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. file — a document
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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