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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. net — after costs
  9. mark — a grade
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pop — to visit
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — soda
  22. race — humankind
  23. mark — a trace
  24. kid — child

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