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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rash — hasty
  3. charge — a price
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rash — a series
  9. mate — to breed
  10. charge — in control
  11. mate — a partner
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. hand — help
  15. mate — a friend
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. charge — electricity
  21. degree — temperature
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — from a university

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