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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stem — to come from
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. row — a line
  24. pitcher — a jug

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