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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mark — a trace
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitch — completely
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. last — final
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bound — tied together
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. 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