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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. last — to go on
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cap — of ice
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fall — the season
  9. shower — to wash
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cap — a hat
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. shower — rain
  18. snap — to click
  19. root — of a word
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. cap — a lid
  24. fine — all right

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