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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. capital — a city
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. row — a line
  6. chest — a box
  7. bore — to drill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. toast — bread
  11. chest — of your body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. capital — money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — help
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — the season
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

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