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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — the arms race
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — a contest
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — to go on
  17. rock — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — a stone
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — in cards
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — final

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