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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rest — a break
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rest — what's left
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — to dunk

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