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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. firm — steady
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — to visit
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. firm — a company
  15. drill — army training
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. firm — decided

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