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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — a friend
  4. file — a document
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. net — for catching
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. branch — a division
  16. chest — a box
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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