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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. capital — money
  5. content — the amount
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bank — for money
  8. craft — boats
  9. capital — a city
  10. march — music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. march — the month
  14. craft — a skill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bank — for money
  19. march — the month
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — help
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bank — of a river

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