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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. game — a match
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — money
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. scale — in music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mug — a face
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — music

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