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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: board · fall · row · spring · mark · capital · tear · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — a line
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spring — a coil
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — of water
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tear — from crying
  15. board — a committee
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spring — the season
  18. mark — a grade
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — the season
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. capital — money
  24. board — to get on

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