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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 · squash · racket · current · cell · leaves · face · temple

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — to crush
  8. face — part of the head
  9. current — happening now
  10. squash — the sport
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. face — to point toward
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cell — a phone
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. current — electric
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. current — of water

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