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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — money
  5. fall — the season
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mark — a trace
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. present — the time now
  23. wake — a trail
  24. perch — for a bird

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