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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. charge — in control
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. object — a thing
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. object — an aim
  17. chest — a box
  18. shower — rain
  19. face — part of the head
  20. charge — electricity
  21. object — to protest
  22. charge — a price
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — a phone

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