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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. rash — a series
  4. track — a song
  5. lean — to bend
  6. hand — help
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cap — of ice
  13. lean — thin
  14. swing — in golf
  15. vault — a safe
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — in cards
  21. swing — music
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rash — on the skin

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