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

Word bank: swing · wind · fall · face · hand · band · nail · lean

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — help
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. swing — music
  9. fall — the season
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lean — to bend
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hand — in cards
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. band — a ring

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