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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · mug · date · wind · face · tear

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mug — to rob
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — to confront
  16. mine — for digging
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit

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