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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bore — to tire
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fall — the season
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bore — to drill
  13. foot — a measure
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. fall — to drop
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — for paper
  22. last — final
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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