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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: wind · rule · mine · face · sharp · ruler · wake · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rule — government
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. face — to confront
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rule — a law
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — a trail

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