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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wind — moving air
  6. face — part of the head
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — high quality
  9. swing — in golf
  10. capital — money
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. capital — a city
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. face — to confront
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cap — a hat
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. face — to point toward
  24. swing — to play on

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