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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — of water
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mug — a face
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. spring — the season
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lean — thin
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — for baseball

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