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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. face — to confront
  3. present — a gift
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. present — there
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. face — to point toward
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. can — a tin
  18. shower — rain

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