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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a city
  5. spell — magic
  6. root — the cause
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — a short time
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lie — to recline
  14. capital — money
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fall — the season
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. root — of a plant
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. root — of a word
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. hand — help

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