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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lie — to recline
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. capital — money
  8. key — for a lock
  9. present — a gift
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. key — the most important part
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — the time now
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. present — there
  19. drill — army training
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. key — in music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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