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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. snap — to click
  4. fine — all right
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fine — high quality
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — in football
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. land — a country
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. land — to come down
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. face — to point toward
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — ground
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. dip — to sink

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