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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mate — to breed
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — in cards
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. object — a thing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. suit — to fit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — to protest
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — from crying
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mate — a friend
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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