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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · calf · date · mouse · spring · file · face · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. date — the fruit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a document
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. face — to point toward
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. face — to confront
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — of water
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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