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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — a practice
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. can — a tin
  11. rest — a break
  12. wind — moving air
  13. can — a tin
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — of your body

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