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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. fine — all right
  3. capital — money
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — the season
  7. cell — in biology
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — the fruit
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. date — on the calendar

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