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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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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: pop · rule · firm · wake · last · bat · wind · fan

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. rule — a law
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pop — soda
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. firm — a company
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rule — government
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. firm — steady
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. firm — decided
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. pop — to visit
  23. last — finally
  24. wind — moving air

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