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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rest — a break
  7. pop — soda
  8. rest — what's left
  9. net — after costs
  10. pop — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cue — a hint
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — to visit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hand — help
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — in sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. tear — to rip

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