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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 124 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. swing — to play on
  6. present — there
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — a container
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — to rip
  13. drill — army training
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. drill — the tool
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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