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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — to bear
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spring — the season
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — a line
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bass — low music
  24. dip — to dunk

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