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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: ruler · row · wind · current · cold · foot · fall · arm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wind — moving air
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. current — of water
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fall — to drop
  16. current — electric
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. current — happening now
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. row — a line

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