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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 not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — in sport
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. craft — boats
  9. swing — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. swing — in golf
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. track — a path
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. track — a song

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