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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cell — in biology
  3. face — to point toward
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. face — to confront
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. perch — the fish
  17. board — a committee
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. land — a country
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. board — to get on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — ground

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