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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — magic
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. scale — in music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — a path
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spell — a short time

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