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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. last — to go on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. last — final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. face — to confront
  9. cell — a phone
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. net — in sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spring — the season
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. last — finally
  24. patient — a sick person

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