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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rest — what's left
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rest — a break
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to click

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