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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: wind · present · rush · swing · rest · scale · lean · capital

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — hurry
  11. scale — size or range
  12. present — a gift
  13. rest — a break
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — the time now
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — what's left
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wind — moving air
  21. scale — in music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. present — there

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