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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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. kid — to tease
  4. tear — from crying
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — not warm
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ball — a dance
  11. object — a thing
  12. kid — child
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. object — to protest
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. object — an aim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bowl — a dish
  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