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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rock — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. file — a tool
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. file — a document
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. present — the time now

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