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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. face — to confront
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. face — to point toward
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — a coil
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ground — a position
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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