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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. club — for dancing
  11. present — there
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. game — a match
  15. present — the time now
  16. club — for golf
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. club — a group
  22. present — a gift
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — wild animals

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