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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. present — there
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. firm — a company
  7. wind — moving air
  8. present — the time now
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. firm — steady
  13. present — a gift
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. track — to keep track
  21. firm — decided
  22. cap — of ice
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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