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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · saw · wind · cold · fine · sharp · hide · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. sharp — clever
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fine — all right
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cap — of ice
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fine — high quality

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