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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. firm — a company
  3. present — a gift
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ground — crushed
  7. firm — steady
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. present — there
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. firm — decided
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — a country
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — a match
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — wild animals

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