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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. file — a tool
  4. kid — child
  5. snap — to click
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a document
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — to rip
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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