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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rush — hurry
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — moving air
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. march — the month
  14. face — to confront
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. march — music
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. face — part of the head

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