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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — to crush
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — of water
  6. net — in sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. race — the arms race
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. current — electric
  15. net — after costs
  16. race — a contest
  17. drill — the tool
  18. current — happening now
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. drill — army training
  24. tear — from crying

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