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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bound — obliged
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — a phone
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bound — certain
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. foot — a measure
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — in biology
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a line of people

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