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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — magic
  5. key — the most important part
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spell — letters
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — the fish
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — a short time
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — moving air

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