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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — hasty
  3. spell — magic
  4. lie — to recline
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. club — for golf
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. club — a group
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — a series
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. spell — letters
  19. ball — a dance
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — on the skin

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