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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. band — a ring
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. suit — in cards
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — an illness
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. band — a music group
  21. key — the most important part
  22. suit — to fit
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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