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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. fall — the season
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — money
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. track — a song
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. capital — a city
  23. track — a path
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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