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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wake — a trail
  3. capital — money
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. scale — size or range
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. row — a line
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. branch — a division
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. capital — a city
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. scale — in music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. deal — to handle
  24. scale — for weighing

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