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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — in music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. land — to come down
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pass — a permit
  15. squash — to crush
  16. land — a country
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. drill — army training
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — a box
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. land — ground
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. squash — the 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