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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rush — hurry
  5. club — for golf
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. club — a group
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — the season
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. club — for dancing
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bore — to drill
  24. capital — a city

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