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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. land — a country
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. lie — to recline
  7. land — to come down
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — an injury
  17. track — a path
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — ground
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — a song
  24. mine — an explosive

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