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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — a country
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — final
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. last — to go on
  11. chest — a box
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bank — of a river
  21. last — finally
  22. bank — for money
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chest — of your body

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