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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mug — a face
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a line
  6. fine — high quality
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mug — to rob
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bass — low music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fine — all right
  16. mug — a cup
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. bass — the fish
  20. capital — a city
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. row — to paddle

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