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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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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. bound — certain
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — part of the head
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — tied together
  10. squash — the sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bound — obliged
  15. squash — to crush
  16. shower — rain
  17. face — to point toward
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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