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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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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: last · nail · present · rush · mine · cell · wind · capital

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. present — there
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rush — hurry
  10. present — a gift
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — a city
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — final
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. present — the time now
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. rush — to hurry

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