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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. shower — rain
  4. last — final
  5. lean — thin
  6. rash — a series
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. last — finally
  11. rash — hasty
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. saw — the tool

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