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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. can — to be able to
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — the amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. content — happy
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — the time now
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. present — a gift
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. lash — to lash out

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