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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ground — a position
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. charge — in control
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mate — to breed

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