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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — a break
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cold — not warm
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to bend
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. lean — thin

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