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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — help
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a hat
  8. ground — a position
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cap — of ice
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tube — a container
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hand — in cards
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. tube — in a tire

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