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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. roll — a list
  5. wound — an injury
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — in sport
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. roll — a cake
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — a trainer

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