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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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468
Word bank
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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. toast — bread
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — the fruit
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — the tool
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — an illness
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. face — to point toward

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