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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — of ice
  5. land — ground
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fine — all right
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fall — the season
  16. land — a country
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. land — to come down
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pound — a weight

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