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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pass — a permit
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — for betting
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — a box
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pound — a weight

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