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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. band — a ring
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — for paper
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — to breed
  20. band — a music group
  21. ground — a position
  22. mate — a partner
  23. ground — crushed
  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