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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. craft — a skill
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. chest — of your body
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — a city
  21. face — to confront
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — a box
  24. craft — boats

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