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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — hasty
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. spring — a coil
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. race — humankind
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mug — a cup
  11. foot — a measure
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mug — a face
  15. race — a contest
  16. mug — to rob
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — the season
  24. rash — a series

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