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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — in sport
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bulb — for light
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bulb — for light
  18. row — a line
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. arm — a part of something

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