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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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. court — for sport
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spell — letters
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — soda
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stand — to bear
  10. court — of law
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. spell — magic
  24. pop — music

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