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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. present — the time now
  3. row — a line
  4. object — to protest
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. march — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. spell — magic
  11. march — the month
  12. present — there
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. object — an aim
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. object — a thing
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — a gift
  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