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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — in golf
  3. squash — to crush
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. capital — money
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pop — soda
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pop — music
  20. stem — to come from
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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