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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. mate — to breed
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mate — a friend
  10. swing — music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a city
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. capital — money
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — low music
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mate — a partner
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cap — a lid
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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