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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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. court — for sport
  4. deal — to handle
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — of a king
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — of law
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — in sport

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