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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — wild animals
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rest — a break
  9. mug — to rob
  10. hand — help
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — finally
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — a face
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — a match
  23. hand — in cards
  24. jam — in traffic

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