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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. face — to confront
  3. present — a gift
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — there
  10. deal — to handle
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — a tin
  16. root — the cause
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. face — to point toward
  19. shower — to wash
  20. can — a tin
  21. shower — rain
  22. present — the time now
  23. root — of a word
  24. deal — a big deal

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