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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · object · wind · wave · fine · hand · pitcher · drill

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. object — an aim
  3. fine — all right
  4. drill — a practice
  5. hand — help
  6. object — to protest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. object — a thing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fine — high quality
  24. hand — in cards

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