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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. row — a line
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. root — the cause
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rest — a break
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — money
  19. root — of a word
  20. spell — magic
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — a big letter

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