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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: toast · mate · hand · present · wind · capital · stem · hide

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. capital — a city
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. present — a gift
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — help
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — money
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hide — to keep secret

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