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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — happy
  10. march — the month
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. march — music
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — the amount
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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