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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. object — a thing
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — to wash
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. track — a path
  10. drill — a practice
  11. object — to protest
  12. staff — a stick
  13. drill — the tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — army training
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. track — to keep track

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