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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. staff — a stick
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — from crying
  10. staff — employees
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — the tool
  14. track — a path
  15. capital — money
  16. staff — employees
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. track — a song
  20. land — ground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fall — to drop

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