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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — a practice
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. land — ground
  5. drill — the tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. firm — a company
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. sharp — clever
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. drill — army training
  15. firm — steady
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. firm — decided
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. game — wild animals
  23. land — a country
  24. wind — moving air

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