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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wind — moving air
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fine — high quality
  12. board — a committee
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. season — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chest — a box
  17. tear — from crying
  18. board — to get on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. season — of the year
  21. fine — all right
  22. swing — music
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. game — wild animals

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