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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rule — a law
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cap — a lid
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a hat
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — the season
  16. cap — of ice
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. spring — of water
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. patient — a sick person

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