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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — rain
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — certain
  9. lie — to recline
  10. kick — in football
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. drill — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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