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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. land — ground
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. can — a tin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. lie — to recline
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — to come down
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kick — in football
  16. can — a tin
  17. rash — a series
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. can — to be able to
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. land — a country

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