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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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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. shower — rain
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. toast — bread
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — a container
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fall — to drop
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. tube — the underground
  22. fall — the season
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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