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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — army training
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — the season
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. foot — a measure
  10. band — a ring
  11. face — to confront
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rock — music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. band — a music group
  19. rock — a stone
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — in music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. band — a rubber band

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