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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kid — child
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rest — a break
  5. rock — a stone
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — to wash
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a line

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