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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rock — music
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace

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