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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — to come down
  5. fork — in a road
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. land — ground
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. land — a country
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a city
  22. cap — a hat
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. capital — a big letter

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