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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — a city
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. track — a song
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — for golf
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. club — a group
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a path
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mug — a face
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mug — a cup

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