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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. face — part of the head
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — the sport
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — moving air
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. tube — the underground
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tube — a container
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — for sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to sink

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