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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. current — of water
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — letters
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — magic
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. face — to point toward
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — the Cold War

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