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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — shares
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. club — for golf
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — goods
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rest — a break
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. club — a group
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — to cut
  21. track — a song
  22. rest — what's left
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bore — to drill

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