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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. face — part of the head
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ground — a position
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. face — to confront
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rush — hurry
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rush — a thrill

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