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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a city
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — an illness
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. roll — a list

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