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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — to bend
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bulb — for light
  8. club — for dancing
  9. staff — employees
  10. bulb — for light
  11. club — a group
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. game — a match
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. hand — in cards
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. club — for golf
  23. lean — thin
  24. staff — employees

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