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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rush — hurry
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pound — a weight
  24. branch — a division

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