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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — farmland
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — for dancing
  7. can — a tin
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. club — a group
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — moving air
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — a trace
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. field — a subject
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. wave — with your hand

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