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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. prune — to trim
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mug — to rob
  6. firm — a company
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — a cup
  15. firm — decided
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mug — a face
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. firm — steady
  24. face — part of the head

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