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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. branch — a division
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fall — the season
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fan — to cool the air

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