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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 116 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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. lean — thin
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bass — low music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — all right
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fine — high quality
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — a gift
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. present — there
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. face — to confront

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