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

Word bank: wind · face · deal · chair · mate · calf

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — a leader
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. calf — a young animal

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