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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: capital · cabinet · wind · lie · game · wake · pop · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. game — a match
  7. pop — soda
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. capital — money
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pop — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — moving air

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