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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. face — to point toward
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pit — a hole
  8. last — to go on
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cell — a phone
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pit — in a race
  15. last — final
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. mark — a trace
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. mark — a grade

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