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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. object — to protest
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. object — a thing
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. board — a committee
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. staff — a stick
  13. land — ground
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — a country
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — final
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. board — to get on
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. object — an aim

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