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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. face — to confront
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. race — humankind
  13. plane — a tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. race — the arms race
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. race — a contest
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — magic
  24. plane — an aircraft

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