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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: band · drill · firm · wind · rush · bowl · hide · face

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — hurry
  3. face — part of the head
  4. band — a ring
  5. face — to confront
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. firm — decided
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wind — moving air
  21. drill — the tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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