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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bank — for money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. spell — magic
  10. bank — for money
  11. spell — letters
  12. pop — music
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bank — of a river
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. plane — a tool
  24. pop — soda

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