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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — a city
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wind — moving air
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. firm — steady
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. capital — money
  13. bear — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — of the sea
  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