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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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Word bank
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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. net — for catching
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — certain
  9. tear — from crying
  10. net — in sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bound — tied together
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. net — after costs
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tear — from crying

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