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

Word bank: fall · snap · bay · file · rash · bear · wound · capital

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. capital — a city
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — a series
  9. fall — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bear — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. capital — money

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