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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. foot — a measure
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. drill — army training
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. net — for catching
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. net — in sport
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. degree — an amount
  21. drill — a practice
  22. capital — a city
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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