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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — electricity
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lie — to recline
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bore — to tire
  8. firm — a company
  9. game — a match
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. firm — steady
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — part of the head
  19. charge — in control
  20. firm — decided
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. charge — a price
  23. game — wild animals
  24. lie — an untruth

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