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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — hurry
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mate — to breed
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cap — of ice
  17. field — a subject
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — there
  21. field — farmland
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — for sport
  24. present — a gift

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