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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pop — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. row — a line
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. row — to paddle
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fall — the season
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pop — soda
  24. shower — rain

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