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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. shower — to wash
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — a break
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — a line
  10. rest — what's left
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. row — to paddle
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — a match
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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