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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. can — a tin
  6. drill — a practice
  7. capital — money
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. can — a tin
  14. rock — music
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. game — a match
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — army training
  21. can — to be able to
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. dip — to sink
  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