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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — a line
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. drill — the tool
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. season — in sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — to paddle

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