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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. row — a line
  3. cell — a phone
  4. row — to paddle
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cell — in biology
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. lean — thin
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — a city

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