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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spring — a coil
  3. firm — a company
  4. bore — to drill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — to come down
  7. firm — steady
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. firm — decided
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — to confront
  19. land — a country
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. spring — the season
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — of water
  24. chest — a box

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