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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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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: rest · pitch · kid · wind · row · pass · land · club

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — to tease
  11. land — to come down
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. club — for dancing
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. club — a group
  17. rest — a break
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. club — for golf
  22. pass — a permit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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