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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — a city
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stand — to bear
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — money
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bound — certain
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bound — tied together
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stand — on your feet

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