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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a tool
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. branch — a division
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. hand — help
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a document
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — ground

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