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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. file — a line of people
  12. track — to keep track
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — the tool
  15. track — a path
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. track — a song
  19. file — a tool
  20. lie — to recline
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. drill — army training
  24. vault — a safe

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