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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: lean · hand · stand · capital · dip · ground · row · wake

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lean — to bend
  3. ground — a position
  4. lean — thin
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. row — a line
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — help
  21. stand — to bear
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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