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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 120 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: row · capital · wind · bore · march · wave

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — to paddle
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. march — music
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — to tire

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