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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 116 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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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: cell · lean · capital · track · shower · bore · spell · mark

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — to keep track
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lean — to bend
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — thin
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mark — a grade
  17. shower — to wash
  18. track — a path
  19. spell — letters
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a trace
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. track — a song
  24. capital — a city

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