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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tear — from crying
  5. drill — the tool
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kid — to tease
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — child
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. plane — in geometry

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