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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. face — to point toward
  6. land — ground
  7. charge — a price
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — to come down
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — the season
  17. charge — electricity
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. land — a country
  22. charge — in control
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wind — to turn a key

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