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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: land · wind · staff · kid · firm · cap · pop · tear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — ground
  3. staff — employees
  4. pop — soda
  5. firm — a company
  6. pop — music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. firm — decided
  13. cap — of ice
  14. land — a country
  15. firm — steady
  16. cap — a lid
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. cap — a hat
  20. staff — employees
  21. tear — to rip
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pop — to visit

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