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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. club — for golf
  3. hand — help
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stand — to bear
  6. drill — a practice
  7. club — for dancing
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — certain
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. drill — the tool
  14. club — a group
  15. bound — tied together
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bound — obliged
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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