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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — the season
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. capital — money
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. spring — of water
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a city
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — to handle
  22. row — a line
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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