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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: wind · firm · fine · pitcher · mine · rash · hand · root

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. firm — decided
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — a company
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fine — all right
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — for digging
  17. root — of a word
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. root — the cause
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — a series
  24. hand — help

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