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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to click
  4. hand — in cards
  5. firm — a company
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — decided
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. firm — steady
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. net — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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