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

Word bank: rush · bowl · object · wind · cold · stick · arm · lie

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. object — to protest
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — an aim
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lie — to recline
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. lie — an untruth

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