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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — a gift
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cell — in biology
  12. season — of the year
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. kick — in football
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. face — to confront
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. season — to add flavour

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