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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. capital — a city
  3. rash — a series
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pound — a weight
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bore — to tire
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — money
  24. bore — gave birth

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