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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — for catching
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. date — the fruit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. net — in sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. net — after costs
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. date — on the calendar

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