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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — moving air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. spell — letters
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. file — a document
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. plane — a tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. spell — magic
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. rash — a series

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