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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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. leaves — to go away
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — music
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — crushed
  9. court — of law
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. leaves — of a tree

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