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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. net — in sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — hasty
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — in golf
  11. roll — a cake
  12. net — after costs
  13. drill — army training
  14. stem — to come from
  15. roll — a list
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. drill — a practice
  19. swing — to play on
  20. rash — a series
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. roll — on a roll
  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