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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — child
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — to rip
  10. net — after costs
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. net — for catching
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mug — a cup
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mug — a face
  19. game — wild animals
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tear — from crying

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