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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. current — happening now
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. band — a ring
  15. current — electric
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a music group
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fall — to drop

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