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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. board — a committee
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bat — the animal
  9. face — to confront
  10. mate — to breed
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. scale — in music
  14. mate — a partner
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — the season
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. board — to get on
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fall — to drop

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