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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 · bowl · snap · mark · bore · capital · ball · cap

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bore — to drill
  6. mark — a trace
  7. snap — to click
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ball — a dance
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fall — the season
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. capital — money
  24. mark — a grade

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