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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — boats
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. craft — a skill
  8. file — a tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. file — a document
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. kick — in football
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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