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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. track — to keep track
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bear — the animal
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — government
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. last — final
  14. rule — a law
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. last — finally
  24. bear — to put up with

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