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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. toast — bread
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. content — happy
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cold — the Cold War

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