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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rule — a law
  3. present — there
  4. rule — government
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — the time now
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. present — a gift
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. game — a kind of play

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