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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lean — thin
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — a country
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. season — in sport
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — in golf
  14. row — a line
  15. swing — music
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. face — to point toward
  20. season — of the year
  21. swing — to play on
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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