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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. key — in music
  3. track — a song
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. band — a ring
  8. key — the most important part
  9. track — to keep track
  10. band — a music group
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. game — wild animals
  24. calf — a young animal

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