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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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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: face · clip · fork · mate · lean · rash · game · wind

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. game — a match
  6. clip — a video
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. lean — thin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — a partner
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. face — part of the head
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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