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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fall — the season
  7. net — after costs
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a city
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to click
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. net — for catching
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. net — in sport
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — money
  24. mark — a trace

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