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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: mine · fine · tear · sharp · wind · root · pop · face

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. root — of a word
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — high quality
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. root — the cause
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pop — to visit
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pop — soda
  21. root — of a plant
  22. face — to confront
  23. pop — music
  24. face — part of the head

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