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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. face — to confront
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bear — the animal
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bass — low music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spell — a short time
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wind — to turn a key

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