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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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Word bank
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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spring — of water
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — a coil
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bound — tied together
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. face — to confront
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. spring — the season

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