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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — to cut
  8. face — part of the head
  9. roll — a list
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — a video
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — for paper
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. roll — a cake

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