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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · capital · toast · firm · bowl · saw

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. firm — a company
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. capital — a city
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. toast — bread
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — money
  18. toast — a drink to someone

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