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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. face — to confront
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ground — a position
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a line
  12. lie — to recline
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tear — to rip
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. ground — the earth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ground — crushed

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