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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. band — a music group
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a ring
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — the season
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. capital — a city
  17. club — for golf
  18. capital — money
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. club — for dancing
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a rubber band

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