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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fine — all right
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — army training
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. swing — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. shower — to wash
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fine — high quality
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chest — a box

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