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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. craft — boats
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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