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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 stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. land — to come down
  4. squash — the sport
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. deal — to handle
  10. lie — to recline
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rest — a break
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rest — what's left

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