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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to confront
  3. file — a tool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bank — for money
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. face — to point toward
  22. squash — to crush
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a line of people

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