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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — humankind
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — rain
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. spell — letters
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. race — a contest
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. spell — magic
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fine — high quality

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