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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom got himself 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. jam — to spread on bread
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. roll — a cake
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. roll — a list
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stem — to come from
  19. march — the month
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. jam — a tight spot

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