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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. rule — government
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. face — part of the head
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rule — a law
  14. toast — bread
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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