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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 124 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: rule · game · wound · face · mark · perch · fan · wind

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — a law
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rule — government
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mark — a trace
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. perch — the fish
  22. face — to confront
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. face — to point toward

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