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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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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: row · rash · cold · capital · fall · band · object · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. row — a line
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. object — an aim
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — money
  11. object — to protest
  12. capital — a city
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a music group
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a ring
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. fall — the season
  21. rash — a series
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. row — a quarrel

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