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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spring — the season
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. file — a document
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cap — of ice
  19. lean — thin
  20. face — to confront
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cap — a hat
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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