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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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 — to turn a key
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fork — in a road
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. face — to confront
  10. file — a tool
  11. hand — help
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. rest — a break
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. band — a ring
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a music group
  22. pass — a permit
  23. fork — to eat with
  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