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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — moving air
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bulb — for light
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. capital — money
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. capital — a city
  23. bulb — for light
  24. capital — a big letter

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