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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lean — thin
  6. wake — a trail
  7. ground — a position
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. shower — rain
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — money
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lean — to bend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bore — to tire

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