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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. land — to come down
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. net — for catching
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — after costs
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. march — the month
  20. land — ground
  21. march — music
  22. net — in sport
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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