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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a line of people
  7. net — for catching
  8. row — to paddle
  9. capital — money
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. file — a tool
  13. net — after costs
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. fall — the season
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. row — a line
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a document
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mug — to rob
  23. net — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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