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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mug — a face
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. mug — to rob
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key

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