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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. pass — a permit
  3. capital — money
  4. fall — the season
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bound — certain
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — a division
  16. bound — tied together
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. file — a document
  19. row — a line
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. row — to paddle

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