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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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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. file — a line of people
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. drill — army training
  13. file — a document
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. file — a tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bass — the instrument

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