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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rock — a stone
  4. staff — employees
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rock — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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