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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. row — a line
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pop — to visit
  7. row — to paddle
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cold — an illness
  12. suit — in cards
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — part of the head
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fan — a supporter

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