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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pop — to visit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. charge — electricity
  6. mine — for digging
  7. row — a line
  8. last — final
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. row — to paddle
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pop — music
  17. charge — a price
  18. last — finally
  19. pop — soda
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. charge — in control
  23. last — to go on
  24. face — part of the head

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