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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — in music
  6. capital — money
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. fall — to drop
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. fall — to drop
  16. capital — a city
  17. fall — the season
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. key — the most important part
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. key — for a lock
  24. trunk — of a tree

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