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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — to go on
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. race — the arms race
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ground — crushed
  12. current — of water
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. race — humankind
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wind — moving air
  17. current — electric
  18. lean — thin
  19. last — finally
  20. lean — to bend
  21. row — a line
  22. race — a contest
  23. drill — army training
  24. current — happening now

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