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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — the season
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a document
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — to rip

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