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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. last — finally
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. kick — in football
  14. file — a tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stand — to bear
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. file — a document
  22. last — to go on
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. file — a line of people

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