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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: race · row · capital · mouse · suit · wind · ground · lean

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. lean — to bend
  3. suit — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a city
  8. ground — crushed
  9. suit — to fit
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a line
  15. ground — a position
  16. suit — clothes
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. race — a contest
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lean — thin

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