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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — a committee
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — to get on
  8. drill — army training
  9. lie — to recline
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — the season
  16. drill — a practice
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — a list
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lie — an untruth

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