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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. capital — money
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — a city
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — hasty
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rash — a series
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. plane — a tool

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