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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. object — an aim
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — help
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. wind — moving air
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. land — to come down
  15. object — a thing
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. object — to protest
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — a country
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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