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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — child
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — the season
  6. rest — what's left
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — a practice
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rest — a break
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. capital — money
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kid — to tease

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