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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: rock · fork · scale · bore · wind · cell · face · last

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — to go on
  4. scale — in music
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rock — a stone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — to confront
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. fork — in a road
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rock — music
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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