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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stem — to come from
  12. net — in sport
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pass — a permit
  15. net — after costs
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. last — final
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a city
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. bowl — a football final

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