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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. land — a country
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — army training
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. land — to come down
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wake — a trail
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. drill — the tool
  24. track — a song

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