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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 116 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. spell — magic
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — letters
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — for catching
  15. rest — a break
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a city
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rest — what's left
  22. net — after costs
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. dip — to dunk

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