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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tear — from crying
  5. capital — money
  6. firm — steady
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — a video
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — a company
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ball — a dance
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wind — moving air
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — to cut
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. tear — from crying

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