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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. race — humankind
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. race — a contest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pit — a hole
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pit — in a race
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cell — a phone

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