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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rock — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. rock — a stone
  10. land — ground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — money
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wind — moving air
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. sharp — clever

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