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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. hand — help
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. stand — to bear
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body

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