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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. last — to go on
  5. craft — boats
  6. drill — a practice
  7. shower — to wash
  8. craft — a skill
  9. hand — help
  10. track — a song
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — rain
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — army training
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — to bear
  22. track — a path
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — the tool

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