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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. bass — low music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — rain
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. date — the fruit
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. bass — the fish
  19. can — to be able to
  20. prune — to trim
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wind — moving air

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