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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. club — for golf
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. fork — a garden 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