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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a dance
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — letters
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. club — for golf
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cold — not warm

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