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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bore — to tire
  3. toast — bread
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mug — to rob
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mug — a cup
  19. branch — a division
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mug — a face
  24. bore — to drill

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