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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. present — a gift
  3. mark — a trace
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — moving air
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. capital — money
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — the time now
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. present — there
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. object — a thing
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — in sport
  24. jam — a tight spot

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