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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — to tease
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — to sink
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. kid — child
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — to eat
  23. face — part of the head
  24. staff — employees

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