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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — a video
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cue — for pool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chip — for betting
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. clip — for paper
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chip — to eat

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