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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — of a king
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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