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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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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: lean · pit · game · mine · stick · wind · cabinet · leaves

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a match
  3. lean — thin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pit — in a race
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. lean — to bend
  12. game — wild animals
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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