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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — rain
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — to tease
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. saw — the tool
  17. craft — boats
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. drill — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. drill — army training
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rule — a law
  24. drill — a practice

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