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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. last — to go on
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — army training
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. drill — a practice
  12. land — ground
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lean — to bend
  19. last — final
  20. toast — bread
  21. band — a ring
  22. drill — the tool
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. wind — to turn a key

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