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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — part of the head
  5. dip — to sink
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — to confront
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mine — an explosive

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