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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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. cue — a signal
  4. face — part of the head
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — the month
  14. content — happy
  15. cue — for pool
  16. face — to confront
  17. track — a song
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fall — the season
  20. march — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — the month
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wind — moving air

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