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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. file — a tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a document
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. file — a line of people
  24. craft — a skill

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