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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bore — to drill
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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