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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. face — to confront
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — a permit
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chest — of your body
  11. roll — a list
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chest — a box
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. toast — bread
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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