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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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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: saw · drill · shower · net · bay · land · wind · rest

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — ground
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — to come down
  15. net — in sport
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. net — for catching
  18. saw — the tool
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — rain
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — a country
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rest — a break

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