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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bound — certain
  3. firm — decided
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — to wash
  6. firm — steady
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. firm — a company
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. bound — tied together
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — rain
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wind — moving air
  24. nail — for a hammer

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