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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cap — a hat
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a match
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cap — of ice
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rash — a series
  24. stand — for spectators

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