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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: cabinet · wind · deal · face · straw · sharp · saw · rule

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. deal — to handle
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rule — a law
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rule — government
  17. face — part of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wind — moving air
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cabinet — ministers

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