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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rest — a break
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pound — a weight
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — dry grass

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