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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — a song
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — hasty
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. track — a path
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. kick — in football
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — to keep track
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — money

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