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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: wind · wound · racket · stick · bear · capital · club · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — thin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. club — a group
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wind — moving air

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