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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lean — to bend
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — an illness
  6. face — to point toward
  7. shower — rain
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. lean — thin
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. face — part of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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