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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. snap — to click
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. net — in sport
  17. chip — to eat
  18. 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