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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bear — the animal
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rock — a stone
  14. land — ground
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — to come down
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. rock — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. land — a country
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — army training

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