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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. saw — the tool
  6. row — to paddle
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. row — a line
  15. race — a contest
  16. spring — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. ground — a position
  24. race — the arms race

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