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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. face — to point toward
  6. game — a match
  7. drill — the tool
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. drill — army training
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. face — to confront
  16. march — music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. face — part of the head
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — moving air

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