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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — the fish
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bass — low music
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — a grade

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