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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. land — ground
  3. season — in sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. season — of the year
  7. pitch — completely
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rash — hasty
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rash — a series
  13. fine — all right
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — the time now
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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