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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to confront
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a path
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — to play on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pop — to visit
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pop — music
  15. race — humankind
  16. rule — government
  17. swing — music
  18. rule — a law
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — in golf
  23. track — a song
  24. pop — soda

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