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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — a skill
  3. net — after costs
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. net — in sport
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — for catching
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rest — what's left
  17. craft — boats
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — an illness
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cold — not warm

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