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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. capital — a city
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. spring — a coil
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spring — of water
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. foot — a measure
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — the season
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. capital — money
  21. lean — thin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — a position
  24. wake — before a funeral

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