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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. last — final
  4. season — of the year
  5. rock — music
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — to go on
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — farmland
  13. deal — to handle
  14. roll — a list
  15. field — for sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bound — obliged
  18. season — in sport
  19. bound — certain
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wind — moving air
  22. roll — a cake
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. last — finally

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