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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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Word bank
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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. can — a tin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. can — a tin
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. swing — music
  24. rest — a break

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