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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 120 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: wind · present · lie · face · content · fan · shower · wound

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. present — the time now
  4. content — the amount
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lie — to recline
  10. present — there
  11. content — happy
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — rain
  24. present — a gift

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