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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a city
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — the month
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. saw — the tool

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