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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bass — low music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — government
  13. wind — moving air
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rule — a law
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — to rule out

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