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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. face — to confront
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. chair — a leader

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