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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. key — in music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. race — a contest
  18. cell — in biology
  19. shower — rain
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — a phone

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