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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — there
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — for digging
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — the time now
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mate — a friend
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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