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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pop — music
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — a match
  8. pop — soda
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. can — a tin
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. can — a tin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stock — goods

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