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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. last — finally
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. suit — to fit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. last — final
  14. suit — clothes
  15. mug — a face
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — a city
  21. chip — to eat
  22. capital — money
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mine — an explosive

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