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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 120 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wound — an injury
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. face — to confront
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. face — part of the head
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. face — to point toward
  24. hide — to keep secret

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