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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. ground — a position
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — soda
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pop — music
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pass — a permit
  19. chest — a box
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — to rip
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ground — the earth

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