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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. rush — hurry
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — an illness
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — for dancing
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. club — a group
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — for golf
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — not warm

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