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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — the season
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. saw — the tool
  5. perch — the fish
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a city
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a line
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. suit — to fit
  20. pound — a weight
  21. suit — clothes
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. suit — in cards
  24. row — to paddle

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