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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a word
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a music group
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — the sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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