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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 116 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: swing · bat · tear · plane · face · last · wind · wake

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wake — a trail
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. swing — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — to go on
  15. tear — to rip
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — to confront
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tear — from crying

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