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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — a country
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — the fish
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — to come down
  15. bass — low music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. land — ground
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a committee
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stand — for spectators

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