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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — a song
  4. capital — money
  5. kick — in football
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — for pool
  8. track — a path
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. shower — to wash
  16. track — to keep track
  17. scale — in music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cue — a signal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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