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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kid — child
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a city
  5. bore — to tire
  6. face — to confront
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — in music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mug — a face
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — size or range
  24. face — part of the head

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