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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — a contest
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. race — humankind
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. race — the arms race
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — a sports field

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