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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — money
  6. season — of the year
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — in sport
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. net — after costs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. net — for catching
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — the animal

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