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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stock — shares
  5. kick — in football
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. face — to confront
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stock — goods
  20. game — a match
  21. last — to go on
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. face — to point toward

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