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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — a short time
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — magic
  10. current — electric
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. current — of water
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — a city
  20. mate — to breed
  21. perch — the fish
  22. current — happening now
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — a friend

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