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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. clip — for paper
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. land — ground
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — to come down
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. scale — in music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. content — the amount
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — to cut
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — for tennis

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