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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  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. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. face — to confront
  5. suit — clothes
  6. content — the amount
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. staff — employees
  9. face — part of the head
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. staff — a stick
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. suit — in cards
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. season — in sport
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. season — of the year
  23. suit — to fit
  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