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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fall — the season
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — in football
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. face — to confront
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. fall — to drop
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — a lid
  24. face — to point toward

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