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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. snap — to click
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. last — final
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wake — a trail
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. land — to come down
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. land — ground
  24. last — to go on

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