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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. land — a country
  4. cap — of ice
  5. land — to come down
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cap — a lid
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — ground
  24. cap — a hat

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