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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. face — to confront
  4. cell — a phone
  5. face — to point toward
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — a position
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. face — part of the head
  11. ground — the earth
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rule — a law
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cap — of ice
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — a hat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — completely

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