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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. rest — a break
  13. spell — letters
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. spell — magic
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fall — the season

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