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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — hurry
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — a video
  17. rule — a law
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. row — to paddle
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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