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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — to come down
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — thin
  11. current — electric
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. land — ground
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. land — a country
  20. branch — a division
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. face — part of the head
  24. hide — animal skin

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