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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. current — electric
  5. board — to get on
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fine — all right
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. current — of water
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. face — to confront
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pit — a hole
  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