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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. lie — to recline
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a city
  24. wind — moving air

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