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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — final
  6. stock — goods
  7. present — there
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. present — the time now
  11. last — finally
  12. game — wild animals
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. game — a match
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stock — shares
  18. present — a gift
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chair — a leader
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. stock — a soup base

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