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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. firm — steady
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — to wash
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fine — high quality
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. firm — a company
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. firm — decided
  24. shower — rain

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