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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. club — for dancing
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. season — of the year
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. key — in music
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. season — in sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. club — a group
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. key — for a lock
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for golf
  24. season — to add flavour

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