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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — the amount
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rush — hurry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — of ice
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — happy
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. saw — the tool
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hand — help
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — the season
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. staff — employees

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