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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. present — a gift
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. court — of a king
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. key — in music
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — of law
  20. present — the time now
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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