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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: wind · lie · capital · row · spell · present · lash · mug

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. present — there
  6. mug — a cup
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mug — to rob
  11. spell — letters
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. present — the time now
  14. row — a line
  15. mug — a face
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. present — a gift
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — magic

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