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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — for catching
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cue — a signal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. capital — money
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. cue — for pool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. net — after costs
  22. suit — clothes
  23. suit — to fit
  24. net — in sport

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