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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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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kid — child
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rock — music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rock — a stone
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. face — to confront

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