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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hand — in cards
  4. file — a document
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — a break
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a tool
  11. march — music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — finally
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a line of people
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. last — to go on

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