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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rest — a break
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — rain
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rest — what's left
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a word
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — a measure
  23. season — in sport
  24. hand — in cards

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