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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — money
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a city
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lean — thin
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. net — for catching
  21. mark — a grade
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. rock — to move gently

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