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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. capital — money
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — a city
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bat — the animal
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ruler — for measuring

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