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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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Word bank
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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. rock — a stone
  6. track — a path
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. march — music
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. track — to keep track

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