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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pit — in a race
  5. file — a line of people
  6. squash — the sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. file — a document
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — a measure
  15. file — a tool
  16. fall — the season
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. squash — to crush
  24. foot — 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