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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wound — an injury
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ball — a great time
  8. chest — a box
  9. ball — a dance
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. lean — thin
  13. rule — government
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — to bend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rule — a law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. craft — boats

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