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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — in music
  24. squash — the sport

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