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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bound — tied together
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. snap — to click
  12. cold — an illness
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. face — part of the head
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bound — certain
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — electric
  23. bound — obliged
  24. current — of water

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