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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. land — ground
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — a leader
  12. land — a country
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bowl — a football final

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