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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · rest · bound · pitcher · spell · capital · pit · fall

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. present — a gift
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — certain
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — obliged
  12. present — there
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — magic
  17. capital — money
  18. fall — to drop
  19. present — the time now
  20. spell — letters
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bound — tied together

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