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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. file — a tool
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. present — the time now

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