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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. firm — decided
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — a series
  12. fine — all right
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — high quality
  15. land — to come down
  16. kid — child
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — a country
  21. firm — a company
  22. wind — moving air
  23. firm — steady
  24. wind — moving air

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