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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — final
  11. scale — in music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fall — the season
  14. last — finally
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. race — humankind
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. last — to go on
  21. craft — boats
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. race — a contest

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