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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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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: rush · row · mouse · cold · lean · wind · wound · racket

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. lean — thin
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lean — to rest against

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