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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fall — the season
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rule — a law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — a video
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — government
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lie — to recline
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rule — to rule out

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