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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 water is too ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pass — a permit
  14. kick — in football
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. lean — to bend
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wind — moving air

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