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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a leader
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. band — a music group
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. face — to point toward
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wind — moving air
  15. band — a ring
  16. fine — all right
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fine — high quality
  22. face — part of the head
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. plane — a tool

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