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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — of your body
  6. object — to protest
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. object — an aim
  9. chest — a box
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. row — to paddle
  12. object — a thing
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — help
  15. spell — magic
  16. hand — in cards
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. chest — of your body
  24. safe — out of danger

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