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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. can — a tin
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — boats
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. shower — rain
  11. stand — to bear
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. can — to be able to
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. can — a tin
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — a coil
  23. craft — a skill
  24. ball — a dance

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