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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pit — a hole
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. shower — to wash
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. land — to come down
  16. sharp — clever
  17. land — a country
  18. wake — a trail
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — rain
  21. pit — in a race
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — for digging
  24. face — to confront

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