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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spell — magic
  7. court — for sport
  8. mug — to rob
  9. court — of law
  10. bank — for money
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mug — a face
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — of a king
  18. spell — a short time
  19. race — a contest
  20. spell — letters
  21. race — the arms race
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mug — a cup

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