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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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468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wind — moving air
  3. suit — to fit
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. stock — goods
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. suit — clothes
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. stock — shares
  23. suit — in cards
  24. ruler — a monarch

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