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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a city
  4. fall — to drop
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — money
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. fall — the season

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