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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. present — the time now
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — a gift
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. present — there
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — soda
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — child

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