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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. game — wild animals
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — in control
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a match
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — a video
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wound — an injury
  19. charge — a price
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kid — to tease
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — electricity
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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