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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. file — a line of people
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. spring — of water
  11. file — a document
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bat — the animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. can — a tin
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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