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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mug — to rob
  3. last — final
  4. face — to point toward
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. last — finally
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. race — the arms race
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — humankind
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mug — a face
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. race — a contest
  24. calf — of the leg

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