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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a line
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hand — help
  9. staff — employees
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rule — a law
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rule — government
  23. prune — to trim
  24. staff — employees

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