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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. march — music
  3. branch — a division
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — the month
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. squash — to crush
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — a series
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of a tree

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