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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. board — a committee
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. capital — money
  19. bat — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a match
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pop — to visit

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