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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pitch — completely
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. shower — rain
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a document
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — a trace
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. track — to keep track
  20. file — a tool
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. track — a song

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