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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 120 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: game · drill · rush · fall · wind · wound · mark · current

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. game — a match
  9. fall — to drop
  10. drill — the tool
  11. current — happening now
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — an injury
  21. current — of water
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wind — moving air

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