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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · dip · foot · wind · field · fan · key · wound

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — farmland
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wound — an injury
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — money
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. dip — to sink
  19. key — in music
  20. capital — a city
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wind — to turn a key

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