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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. tube — the underground
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — to go on
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. pop — to visit
  8. perch — the fish
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — soda
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — child

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