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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. race — a contest
  3. rest — a break
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — humankind
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hand — in cards
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spring — a coil
  20. row — a line
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rest — what's left

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