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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. object — an aim
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. object — to protest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. capital — money
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. object — a thing
  24. bass — the instrument

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