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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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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: ruler · wind · face · kick · cold · tube

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. face — to confront
  4. tube — a container
  5. face — to point toward
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tube — the underground
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cold — an illness

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