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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tube — the underground
  3. board — to get on
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — music
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. board — a committee
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — to go on
  19. snap — to click
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — finally
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. prune — to trim
  24. board — a flat piece

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