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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mug — to rob
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — magic
  8. drill — army training
  9. spell — letters
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pit — a hole
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. shower — rain
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — money
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. lean — thin
  24. spell — a short time

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