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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mug — a cup
  5. field — farmland
  6. key — in music
  7. mug — a face
  8. key — for a lock
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — a subject
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cold — not warm
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — for sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mug — to rob
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. lie — an untruth

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