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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — to go on
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. face — to confront
  14. lean — thin
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — crushed
  18. object — a thing
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. ground — a position
  24. object — to protest

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