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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. snap — to click
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. face — to confront
  6. root — of a word
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rule — a law
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. band — a ring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a music group
  18. row — a line
  19. chest — of your body
  20. root — the cause
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. band — a rubber band

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