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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. drill — a practice
  9. file — a tool
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. object — to protest
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. file — a document
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. drill — the tool
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. object — a thing
  22. drill — army training
  23. file — a line of people
  24. object — an aim

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