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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. band — a music group
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. face — to confront
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fall — the season
  17. band — a ring
  18. bark — to shout
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — to point toward
  22. spring — a coil
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bark — of a tree

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