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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — help
  7. bank — for money
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — a city
  17. bank — for money
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hand — in cards

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