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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wave — with your hand

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