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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. staff — employees
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hand — help
  19. wake — a trail
  20. staff — a stick
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. leaves — to go away

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