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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to point toward
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. content — happy
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. face — to confront
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chair — a leader
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. content — the amount
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. face — part of the head

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