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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. chest — of your body
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cap — a hat
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rule — a law
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. firm — a company
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rule — government
  24. cold — an illness

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