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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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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. face — part of the head
  3. lean — thin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — to bend
  17. roll — a list
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — an illness

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