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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.

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: tube · club · wind · craft · capital · dip · rush · row

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. craft — a skill
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. club — for golf
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — a container
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. row — to paddle
  24. club — a group

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