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

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — to come down
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — an aim
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. object — a thing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — soda
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. object — to protest
  18. wind — moving air

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