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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 · racket · fall · pass · kid · coach · bark · face

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. face — part of the head
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. kid — to tease
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. face — to confront
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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