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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. firm — steady
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a document
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. spell — letters
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. drill — army training

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