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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — money
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. staff — employees
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. staff — employees
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rock — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a city

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