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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wound — an injury
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — to keep track
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. track — a song
  14. board — a committee
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — to get on
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — magic

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