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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spell — magic
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — letters
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — a position
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — the earth
  19. march — music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — a supporter

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