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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. swing — to play on
  11. object — an aim
  12. last — to go on
  13. object — to protest
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. last — final
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — finally
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — a thing

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