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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. capital — money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pit — a hole
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. capital — a city
  23. bat — for baseball
  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