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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. hand — in cards
  3. firm — a company
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. firm — steady
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — moving air
  9. firm — decided
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — final
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — help
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. race — the arms race
  23. last — finally
  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