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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. squash — to crush
  14. capital — a city
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rash — a series
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bowl — a football final

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