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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. net — after costs
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. net — in sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. capital — money
  11. stand — to bear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tear — to rip
  23. capital — a city
  24. fall — to drop

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