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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — farmland
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fall — the season
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — a city
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — a subject
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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