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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of law
  4. last — finally
  5. bore — to drill
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — help
  8. bore — to tire
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. court — of a king
  15. capital — a city
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — final
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. spell — magic

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