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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. march — the month
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — to drop
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — part of the head
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fall — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. face — to confront
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. wake — a trail
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. root — of a plant

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