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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — help
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — money
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. saw — the tool
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

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