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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — to rip
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rock — a stone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. season — of the year
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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