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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. court — of a king
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — for paper
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. lie — to recline
  12. clip — to cut
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. toast — bread
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — a video
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. court — for sport
  23. file — a document
  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