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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mug — a cup
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. kid — child
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. ground — crushed
  9. branch — a division
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. lean — to bend
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a face
  21. lean — thin
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — for paper

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