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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 116 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: wind · spell · chair · fine · capital · bulb · spring · lash

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spell — magic
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — the season
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spell — letters
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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