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

Word bank: mine · face · wound · rash · bear · bay · wind · shower

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. rash — a series
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bear — the animal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mine — for digging

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