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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. present — a gift
  3. spring — the season
  4. ground — a position
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. present — the time now
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — the underground
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ground — crushed
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. present — there
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — the earth
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tube — a container
  24. snap — to click

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