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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — help
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. charge — electricity
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lean — to bend
  15. present — there
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — the time now
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. charge — a price
  22. shower — rain
  23. lean — thin
  24. charge — in control

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