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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — there
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rush — hurry
  24. hand — part of the body

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