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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — soda
  4. rest — a break
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. track — a song
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. dip — to sink
  13. rest — what's left
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fall — the season
  16. capital — money
  17. hand — in cards
  18. track — a path
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pop — music

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