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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — in sport
  5. object — to protest
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. land — ground
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — to come down
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. game — wild animals
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. game — a match
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. net — for catching

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