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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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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a line
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. firm — decided
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. firm — a company
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. firm — steady
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hand — help
  24. coach — a trainer

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