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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. can — to be able to
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — music
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. can — a tin
  11. chest — a box
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rest — a break
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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