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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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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: fork · face · wind · rule · bass · sharp · content · lie

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — happy
  4. sharp — clever
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bass — low music
  13. rule — government
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rule — a law
  20. face — part of the head
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. content — the amount

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