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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. suit — in cards
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spring — the season
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. spring — of water
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hand — help
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — a city
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — in cards
  24. capital — a big letter

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