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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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rash — a series
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — hasty
  10. current — of water
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mine — for digging
  17. current — electric
  18. row — a line
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — army training
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — to paddle
  24. current — happening now

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