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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. row — to paddle
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. field — a subject
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tube — the underground
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — for digging
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — a line
  19. field — for sport
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tube — a container

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