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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pound — a weight
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. craft — boats
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. craft — a skill
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — a contest
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. race — the arms race

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