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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pop — to visit
  6. game — a match
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — soda
  9. capital — a city
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mug — to rob
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. object — an aim
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. mug — a face
  17. object — a thing
  18. mug — a cup
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — music
  24. lie — to recline

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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