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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fall — to drop
  6. foot — a measure
  7. row — a line
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fall — the season
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. face — to point toward
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. tube — in a tire

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