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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · kid · present · wind · wound · club · pass · rush

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — child
  4. present — the time now
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. present — a gift
  10. bat — the animal
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — there
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rush — to hurry

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