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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — the fish
  4. hand — help
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bass — low music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — to confront
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. foot — a measure
  22. hand — in cards
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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