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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. current — of water
  6. prune — to trim
  7. drill — a practice
  8. land — a country
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cap — of ice
  11. object — an aim
  12. current — happening now
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cap — a hat
  18. current — electric
  19. cap — a lid
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. drill — army training
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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