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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. track — a path
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. track — a song
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. face — to confront
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — part of the head
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — to drop
  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