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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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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: bear · wind · land · race · fan · fine · row · hand

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fine — all right
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — high quality
  9. race — humankind
  10. land — a country
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. row — a line
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — ground
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bear — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — help
  24. fan — a supporter

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