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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rule — government
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fall — the season
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — a law
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fall — to drop

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