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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — a city
  17. face — part of the head
  18. patient — a sick person

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