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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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Word bank
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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: mate · can · row · chip · wound · pit · wind · fan

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chip — for betting
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. can — a tin
  13. row — a line
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — to eat
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pit — in a race
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pit — a hole

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