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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — help
  4. root — of a word
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — child
  7. root — the cause
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. last — final
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. last — to go on
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — finally
  20. rule — government
  21. face — to point toward
  22. root — of a plant
  23. kid — to tease
  24. vault — a safe

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