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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — a subject
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — farmland
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. kid — child
  18. field — for sport

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