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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — a lid
  3. last — finally
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — hurry
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — final
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — to bend
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cap — of ice
  14. drill — army training
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — thin
  19. face — to point toward
  20. last — to go on
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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