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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mark — a grade
  9. kid — to tease
  10. suit — in cards
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — in cards
  19. suit — clothes
  20. scale — in music
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. suit — to fit

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