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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fine — all right
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — a law
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bank — for money
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. march — the month
  12. bank — for money
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rule — government
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — the month
  17. face — to confront
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bank — of a river
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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