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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bulb — for light
  3. squash — the sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. rule — government
  6. present — the time now
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. shower — to wash
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. present — a gift
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rule — a law
  14. squash — to crush
  15. present — there
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bulb — for light
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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