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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — thin
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for dancing
  12. file — a line of people
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. degree — from a university
  16. file — a document
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stock — goods
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mine — for digging

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