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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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Word bank
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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: bay · bat · bowl · present · wind · capital

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. bat — in an idiom

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