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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. pound — a weight
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. spell — a short time
  8. date — the fruit
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spell — letters
  14. cap — a lid
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — a list
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. date — on the calendar
  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