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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He was locked up in 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. rush — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. capital — money
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. capital — a city
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cell — in a prison

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