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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — a subject
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. capital — money
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. capital — a city
  24. clip — for paper

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