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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of law
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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