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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rest — a break
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. roll — a cake
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. roll — a list
  20. rest — what's left
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. drill — army training

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