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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. swing — music
  3. rule — government
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — clever
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. swing — in golf
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fall — the season
  23. rule — a law
  24. wind — moving air

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