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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — to confront
  5. key — in music
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. deal — to handle
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — a lid
  15. face — to point toward
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. key — for a lock
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. key — the most important part
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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