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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — in biology
  3. toast — bread
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cell — a phone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. staff — employees
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — a stick
  14. drill — army training
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. drill — the tool
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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