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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — help
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. face — part of the head
  12. file — a line of people
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. stock — goods
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. face — to point toward
  23. band — a ring
  24. patient — a sick person

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