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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. file — a document
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — a skill
  10. file — a tool
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. race — humankind
  18. craft — boats
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a line of people

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