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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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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: drill · chest · wave · leaves · wind · capital · fan · tube

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. tube — the underground
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — a container
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a city
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — a box
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. tube — in a 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