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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bound — certain
  4. face — to point toward
  5. drill — the tool
  6. face — to confront
  7. swing — to play on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. drill — army training
  12. cue — for pool
  13. swing — music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. last — final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — shares
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — a practice
  21. stock — goods
  22. swing — in golf
  23. last — to go on
  24. bound — tied together

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