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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — to go on
  3. object — an aim
  4. dip — to sink
  5. face — part of the head
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. last — finally
  10. object — a thing
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — the tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stem — to come from
  23. object — to protest
  24. drill — army training

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