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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. root — of a word
  3. face — part of the head
  4. lean — to bend
  5. root — the cause
  6. shower — to wash
  7. present — the time now
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. swing — in golf
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — rain
  17. lean — thin
  18. present — a gift
  19. swing — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. present — there
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. swing — to play on

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