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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. roll — a list
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bound — certain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. roll — on a roll

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