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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. hand — help
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. face — to confront
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chip — to eat
  13. face — to point toward
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — for betting
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hide — to keep secret

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