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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. season — in sport
  12. face — to point toward
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. face — part of the head
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — humankind
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. face — to confront
  23. tube — a container
  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