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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of law
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. net — after costs
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — letters
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. spell — magic
  18. shower — rain
  19. net — in sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. court — of a king
  22. snap — to click
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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