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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: tear · plane · fine · season · wake · capital · wind · pound

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fine — all right
  11. capital — money
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fine — a penalty

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