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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. net — in sport
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — an illness
  5. present — the time now
  6. rush — hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. can — a tin
  20. lean — thin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — a tin
  23. present — a gift
  24. wind — moving air

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