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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — goods
  6. kid — child
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stock — shares
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. swing — in golf
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wake — a trail
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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