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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — boats
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rush — hurry
  10. file — a tool
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. file — a document
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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