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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — rain
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. field — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. plane — a tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. face — part of the head
  10. field — a subject
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. squash — the sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. face — to point toward
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chip — for betting
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cell — a phone

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