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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: bowl · snap · fan · capital · lean · cue · wind · pop

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — thin
  3. pop — to visit
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cue — a signal
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pop — music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pop — soda
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — money
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. capital — a big letter

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