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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chest — a box
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. face — to confront
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to click
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fine — all right
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chest — of your body

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