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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. mark — a trace
  13. game — wild animals
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — army training
  18. game — a match
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. drill — a practice
  24. temple — a place of worship

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