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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. net — in sport
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rash — a series
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — for sport

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