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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. club — for golf
  20. fall — the season
  21. club — a group
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. racket — a loud noise

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