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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wind — moving air
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. face — to confront
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — thin
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mark — a grade
  14. present — a gift
  15. drill — army training
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. drill — a practice
  22. march — music
  23. mine — for digging
  24. lean — to rest against

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