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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — a series
  3. last — finally
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — final
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — to go on
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. face — part of the head
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rash — hasty
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. row — a line
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. face — to point toward

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