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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. capital — money
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. capital — a city
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fall — the season
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. pass — a permit
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. game — a match
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. bore — to drill
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — to tire

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