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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — the cause
  3. wound — an injury
  4. can — to be able to
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — a tin
  8. root — of a word
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a dance
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. can — a tin
  24. ball — a round shape

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