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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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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: cell · wound · wind · dip · wake · bear · face · tube

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. face — part of the head
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — to confront
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bear — the animal
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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