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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — moving air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fine — all right
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — employees

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