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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 120 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: wave · rest · capital · key · mine · bat · row · lean

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mine — for digging
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. lean — to bend
  9. key — in music
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rest — a break
  14. lean — thin
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — money
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. row — a line
  24. mine — belonging to me

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