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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. game — wild animals
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. game — a match
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. object — an aim
  19. face — to confront
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. object — to protest

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