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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cell — a phone
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — in sport
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mug — a face
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mug — to rob
  11. face — part of the head
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mug — a cup
  20. band — a ring
  21. net — for catching
  22. last — finally
  23. net — after costs
  24. cell — in biology

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