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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — in sport
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — a country
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rock — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — a match
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. game — a kind of play
  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