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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. key — in music
  6. game — a match
  7. shower — rain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pass — a permit
  12. season — in sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — finally
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. season — of the year

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