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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. club — a group
  7. lie — to recline
  8. kick — in football
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. swing — in golf
  18. club — for golf
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. club — for dancing
  21. capital — a city
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. wind — moving air

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