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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — government
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. face — to point toward
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rule — a law
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — part of the head
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ground — a position
  24. rock — a stone

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