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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. club — for dancing
  3. band — a music group
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. club — for golf
  6. tube — the underground
  7. hand — in cards
  8. band — a ring
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tube — a container
  16. hand — help
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tear — from crying
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wind — moving air

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