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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. firm — a company
  4. fall — the season
  5. firm — steady
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. sharp — clever
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stem — to come from
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. hand — help

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