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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. capital — a city
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. capital — money
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — a break
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rock — music
  23. cold — an illness
  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