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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — final
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kid — to tease
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. coach — a trainer

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