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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — a position
  4. snap — to click
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chest — a box
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — for light
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — to handle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — the earth
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wind — to turn a key

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