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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 116 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: kid · bear · wake · row · lean · firm · file · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. firm — steady
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. file — a line of people
  5. row — a line
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lean — thin
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. firm — a company
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. file — a document
  17. kid — to tease
  18. firm — decided
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kid — child
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a tool

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