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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rule — a law
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mark — a grade
  7. craft — boats
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. roll — a list
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. craft — a skill
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. file — a document
  17. mark — a trace
  18. file — a tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. roll — a cake

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