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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cue — a hint
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rash — a series
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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