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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mate — a friend
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — government
  8. season — of the year
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. season — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lean — thin
  16. rule — a law
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — a box
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mate — to breed
  24. season — to add flavour

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