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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 124 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ground — a position
  7. board — a committee
  8. last — finally
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. ground — crushed
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hand — help
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. file — a document
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cell — a phone

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