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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fall — the season
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — for catching
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — after costs
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. club — for golf
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. scale — in music
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wind — moving air

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