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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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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: hand · wake · march · pop · bat · wind · face · nail

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wake — a trail
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to confront
  8. march — the month
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — soda
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. march — the month

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