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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — what's left
  5. squash — to crush
  6. capital — a city
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rest — a break
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. capital — money
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rest — what's left

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