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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fine — all right
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. shower — to wash
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — in golf
  10. march — music
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. current — of water
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — electric
  23. march — the month
  24. fine — a penalty

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