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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. roll — a list
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bear — the animal
  8. face — to confront
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. scale — in music
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — not warm

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