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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. face — part of the head
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. shower — to wash
  9. race — humankind
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. spell — letters
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — rain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. race — a contest

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