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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — in music
  4. roll — a list
  5. wake — a trail
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. spell — magic
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spell — letters
  11. roll — a cake
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ball — a great time
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. ball — a dance
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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