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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — the earth
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — a series
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. scale — size or range
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. rash — hasty
  16. board — to get on
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — a position
  24. board — a committee

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