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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a document
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. drill — army training
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. firm — decided
  17. bound — certain
  18. firm — a company
  19. file — a line of people
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. file — a tool
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — an illness
  24. firm — steady

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