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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — help
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. drill — the tool
  5. season — in sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — of the year
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. plane — a tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. racket — for tennis

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