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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. court — of a king
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pop — to visit
  12. staff — employees
  13. court — for sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. capital — a city
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cell — in biology
  24. court — of law

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