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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.

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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — to shout
  3. swing — in golf
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bank — of a river
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. swing — music

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