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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. swing — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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