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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — in music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — electric
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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