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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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. capital — a city
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — help
  14. face — to confront
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. face — to point toward
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ruler — for measuring

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